Wednesday May 24, 2023
BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan cricketer Shan Masood says leading a club like Yorkshire in English county cricket is a "huge honour" and a matter of pride for him.
Masood is the first Pakistani cricketer to become captain in the club's history since its inception in 1853.
Last year, he became only the second Pakistani player to lead a county team after Wasim Akram when he was named Derbyshire CCC captain for the T20 Blast tournament.
When asked about his decision to join Yorkshire, the southpaw said it was a huge opportunity that he was fully prepared to accept.
Masood's remarks were made while speaking to Geo News in an exclusive interview at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham after Yorkshire Vikings' defeat in the opening match of the T20 Blast tournament against Birmingham Bears, which the home team won by 34 runs.
“To actually captain a club like Yorkshire, which has had at least three previous captains of the Pakistan team and someone like the great Sachin Tendulkar.
"Even some great English players past and present have represented this club."
Due to his commitments with the national team, Masood has missed the first few weeks of the current county season for Yorkshire. The Blast game against Birmingham was his second competitive game with the club in charge.
"It's always difficult to adapt when you join a team when there are few games left in the season.
"Unlike last year when I was available for Derbyshire CCC from day one, I've missed over a month this season; it's not easy to settle in quickly."
In the opening match of the tournament, Yorkshire won the toss and elected to field first. They were in a good position when Birmingham lost four quick wickets for just 51 runs. Still, the Bears managed to score 200 runs.
Masood described losing the match after being in such a strong position as "unacceptable".
"We will have to look at our weakness and the team will have to learn quickly as we move forward."
The good thing is that we have to play 14 games in the group stage, he said.
“Last year when I was in charge of Derbyshire Falcons we lost four out of six games at the start but after the group stage was over we managed to win nine games out of fourteen.
Vowing to learn from the mistakes, the Yorkshire captain said he could afford to make such mistakes at the start of the tournament and hoped to perform well to bring positive results to the team.
“We have a few days gap before the next game against Worcester Rapids so we will rest and train.
Shan said the fans have high hopes for him, especially with Yorkshire's far from satisfactory start to the season.
“Individual players and their will have to perform really well from now on to get results in our favour. We just need one good result to build momentum.
“A good team will always try to take advantage of this momentum and achieve mutual victories
